


when i wanted the roaches dead

by Shaitanah



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Current Events, M/M, Pre-Slash, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-10
Updated: 2012-03-10
Packaged: 2017-11-01 18:37:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/359983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaitanah/pseuds/Shaitanah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>People who want to kill each other talk first. It’s tradition. [for the prompt “Naruto; Sasuke/Naruto; ribcage” by ylmik_wisty]</p>
            </blockquote>





	when i wanted the roaches dead

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Title from “Cruelty” by Lucille Clifton.  
> A/N: Why do I feel like I've turned Sasuke into Drusilla? O_o

_Around the world, everyone_

_is entering a conversation._

Hemant Mohapatra.

_‘All That Bravery Got Us Nowhere’_

 

It was on the outskirts of the battlefield that they finally met. Too many chance meetings, to Sasuke’s taste. But this one was different. For starters, he hadn’t expected to be called by a different name – and yet, the second he emerged from the cover of shaggy trees, a blur of a familiar colour array sped towards him, dropping the name:

 

“Itachi!”

 

He halted, stricken with the realization of his mistake. He looked older. A few years ago he would have made the same mistake, except in reverse.

 

 “Sasuke,” he said quietly, testing the waters.

 

“You knew he was back?” Sasuke asked, a lame attempt at casual.

 

Naruto shifted uncomfortably.

 

“We kinda have this thing where he collapses the Edo Tensei and I–. Hang on, are you in any way still evil? ‘Cause if you are and I’m telling you this–”

 

A grim smile tugged at Sasuke’s lips. Same old, same old. Big mouth, bright colours, featherbrain. Wasn’t Naruto supposed to be on some grand power trip? Wasn’t this entire war supposed to be about him?

 

“Everybody talks,” said Sasuke, barely even surprised at how calm he sounded. “They go out to take lives and end up chatting until their teeth fall out. It’s tradition, didn’t you know?” He sighed irritably. “I came here to kill you. Does that answer your question?”

 

Naruto fell silent as if he was seriously considering it. Knowing him, he might have been.

 

“Nope,” he said at length. “Look, can we maybe… not do this?”

 

This was a first.

 

“Do what?” Sasuke asked as he drew closer, curious despite himself.

 

Naruto sounded older, too. Deeper. “Fight.”

 

Naruto had always been chatty. At least that hadn’t changed.

 

“Let me guess,” Sasuke said, voice laced with venom, but not enough, not nearly enough. He felt tired. Somewhere out there his dead brother was saving the world. “You had a rough day. Wait, no, you had a rough life.” And this was the part where Naruto would tell him that it didn’t matter as long as they walked the right path, and Sasuke would tell him that hate was the right path for him, yada-yada-yada – and funny how everyone seemed to know better which path he should take. “I don’t want to talk to you,” he snapped. “The only person I want to talk to is otherwise engaged.”

 

“Now you know how I feel when I’m trying to reach you.”

 

Sarcasm? The blockhead had certainly had some self-improvement training.

 

“Point of view,” Sasuke said.

 

He sounded detached, and Naruto probably noticed it, and might have even grasped the reason: Sasuke was looking for an opening, the fastest way to attack, the easiest way to win. His interest had been piqued when Zetsu mentioned the round dance of doom everybody was performing around Naruto, but now that he saw him, restless, alone, in league with Itachi, he wanted nothing more than to play the final note of this ancient song. Kill. Kill. Kill.

 

“Huh?” Naruto said, looking almost as if he were about to zone out for a moment.

 

“Evil,” Sasuke explained patiently. “From my point of view, there’s nothing good in the world. Not Konoha, not Madara, not my brother, not you, certainly not me. Evil has to be destroyed. That’s the way the story goes.”

 

His voice came out quiet, deliberate, the voice of a weary child. He should have asked Itachi what being dead was like. Probably not as peaceful as advertised.

 

“Not always with fists and fire,” Naruto noted. “Look, I know you’re pissed off about your brother.” There goes the pep talk. Run and hide. “But I’ve seen where this whole thing leads and so have you. I’m kinda good at defying conventions. I don’t fancy us being the next Shodai versus Madara gig.” Big words, little sense. Naruto gave him a small smile. “I know what’s in your heart.”

 

Sasuke’s face hardened. A strange, prickly sensation irritated someone else’s eyes in his eye sockets. He cut the space between him and Naruto short until it was virtually non-existent, and murmured:

 

“My heart? My heart is in a cage. If you want it, you’ll have to break it out.”

 

The screeching of the Chidori filled his ears. Sparks flared as he ran his fist through Naruto’s own chest. The blockhead could use a demonstration; otherwise, when the time came, he wouldn’t know what to do. As always. Except the body refused to supply the crackle of bones snapping like dry twigs or the sticky wetness of blood spilling out. The body just went _poof!_

 

Of course.

 

An almost dreamy smile flashed on Sasuke’s lips. This was even better. There were many Narutos to play with while his brother was busy. Maybe he would even find the bright, glowy one everyone was so hyped about.

 

_March 11, 2012_


End file.
